


Hearts and Minds

by BigIronGothGF



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:54:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29047230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigIronGothGF/pseuds/BigIronGothGF
Summary: My first fanfiction, hope this is an interesting enough idea that people want to see more. And I hope that I have more of this in me to give.No specific warnings. Nothing here should be more triggering than Worm is.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Hearts and Minds

I was just on the edge of falling asleep when I heard a loud scraping sound, like someone dragging a piece of plastic over asphalt.

I jumped up from the dusty futon and grabbed the hunting knife with the antler handle I’d found in the cabin earlier.

I don’t know how it didn't wake me earlier, but I could now clearly hear the hum of an engine.

Silently I made my way to the cabin’s main window and cracked the curtain. It was too dark outside to see much even with my newly improved eyesight. But I could definitely see a car where there wasn’t one earlier.

Their headlights were off, and I’m pretty sure they’d ran over one of the tree stumps that the dirt road to the cabin weaved in between.

Likely the visitor was both unfamiliar with the location and trying not to draw attention. There was no way it was the owners of the cabin I was squatting in. Unless they for some reason got drunk, smashed their own headlights and drove at least a few dozen miles in the middle of the night to visit their cabin.

So it’s probably not the owners.

I hadn’t touched anyone in the last day, so if it was one of my siblings I was screwed. In fact the reason I had stopped here was because it was the first place I came across after my vessels faded out of my perception and I could no longer maintain the speed I had been going at. Even with my upgraded body, running a dozen miles through canadian wilderness along deer and hiking trails is exhausting and dangerous.

The car was still running and I couldn’t see movement. The tiny sliver of moon was shining a little more light through the trees now, but it wasn’t really helping.

Around a minute passed and before the drivers side door opened. A figure exited the car and started creeping toward the cabin in half steps. Walking slowly so they didn't trip.

I couldn’t tell if they were male or female. They honestly could have been any of my siblings at this point. But I don’t know why they would be alone, and why they would be so bad at remaining hidden.

If they were here for me, and therefore knew I was here, their plan was terrible.

They had made it to the slightly raised porch at the front of the cabin and were making their way up now. 

I still couldn’t tell if it was a sibling. I moved to beside the door, still silent, and crouched beside it so that as soon as they opened it I could grab them. If I could make contact, make them into a vessel, it would be over before it even began. I could feel my power almost lick its lips in anticipation. I had been antsy not having an active connection to someone, even after only having my powers for a little over a day.

I thought for a second that perhaps this was a trap, that they wanted me to be overconfident. But there is nothing for it, I had to commit.

Their face pressed up against the small glass panel, then the door handle twisted as they pulled it open.

NOW!

I leapt forward and grabbed the hand they opened the door with. They yelped and tried to jump away, slipping from my grasp as they fell backward. They crab walked away from me and ended up tumbling over themselves as they reached the end of the porch.

In a surprising feat of acrobatics they managed to turn their fall into a roll and landed crouched. They rose and I felt their eyes lock onto me through our nascent connection. They tried to do something to me, and I felt as the nerves in their legs lit up causing them to fall once more.

“Jean-Paul?” I exclaimed. His power was unmistakable. Of everyone I expected to be sent after me, he was at the bottom of the list.

“Reneé?” he sounded even more shocked than me. I wasn’t savvy to my powers' nuances, but it seemed like he was truly surprised.

“Holy shit I never expected to see you again,” he laughed. His relief was short lived before his feelings plateaued. 

“Paulie, what the fuck are you doing here?” He ignored the nickname, he was far less irritated by it than I previously believed. He continued to brush himself off and regulate his breathing.

“It’s dark as our childhoods out here. The lights in there work?” He said, trying to ignore me.

“Answer the question Paulie.” Even if I was fairly sure he hadn’t expected to see me, I needed to be sure. 

“With all the commotion you caused for dear old dad, I stole one of his cars and left. It was earlier than I was planning, but you know what they say about gift horses.” I could feel his annoying smirk even without the help from my power.  
“And you just happened to end up trying to squat in the same cabin as me while on the run from our family?” I deadpanned, the skepticism was baked into the statement.

“I’m as surprised as you are Reneé.” He actually was. “A better question is what are you doing here. Did you hotwire a car or something?” He made a show of looking around even though it was far too dark to see anything.

“I ran.” I said plainly and truthfully.

“You're a regular Forrest Gump.” Joked Jean-Paul, only half believing me.

“You know I could kill you easily. Bury you out here and it could be decades before someone's dog digs up your bones. Might not even need to bury you, actually. Not like our blood and teeth are on record.” His smile was a little forced now. Habit.

“But you won’t. Not to your little brother Jean-Paul.” remaining outwardly carefree even in the face of death threats. He was only half sure I wouldn’t kill him.

It would certainly be an easy end to things.

“I didn’t want them to do it.” he said. I was almost taken aback at the first sign of regret I'd seen in my brother.

“But you didn’t stop them. Even after it was over you let them keep going.” I bit out. Wounds still fresh.

“I don’t think I could have even if I tried.” He said. And he was right. All of Heartbreaker’s brood were resistant to masters to some extent. I only escaped because I wasn't one.

I didn’t reply. Just remained standing above him in the dark.

“Annette was my favourite. Out of all of them I mean. Even after what he did to her, she was still a person.” He offered. 

“Don’t.” I didn’t need to hear his attempt at comfort. Even if he was the best of my siblings, he was still a sociopath. “It doesn’t matter. She’s gone. You weren’t the one that killed her.”

He was silent, processing my words. 

“There are no lights. I don’t know how to start the generator even if i had fuel.” I flicked open the lighter I’d stashed in my pocket. The small flame beckoning my brother inside.

“I’ll light the fire though.” I wasn’t feeling the cold, but he was twofold.

**Author's Note:**

> If you hadn't guessed, this is a Taylor that was raised alongside Alec and Heartbreaker's other kids.
> 
> Taylor has a variation of Kings power. I have some other AU elements in mind but nothing concrete.


End file.
